Over October: At our core, we’re still an indie band

Since breaking into the mainstream with their hit single Ikot, alternative pop band Over October has remained true to its indie roots, consistently crafting sonically addictive pieces for more than a decade now.

Formed in 2014, the indie quintet is composed of Josh Buizon on lead vocals and rhythm guitars; Joshua Caleb Lua, lead guitars; Joric Canlas, bass; Janessa Geronimo, drums and Anton Rodriguez, rhythm guitars. Except for Joric, who’s from the University of Santo Tomas, the rest of the band were fellow members of an organization from the Ateneo de Manila University.

In an exclusive interview with The STAR, the group said that a lot has changed since they broke into the mainstream spotlight, but their identity as a band and their signature sound remain intact.

“I think it’s more of how we treat the shows now,” began Lua. “Now, we call it gigs. We make it a point na to call it a show because buong experience na yung i-no-offer namin, down to the lights (and) to the LEDs. Now, we make an effort for the music and visuals to match.”

“I think in general lang kasi di ba the mainstream market is bigger and the expectations are also bigger. So, mga big names din yung mga nandun, eh,” echoed Geronimo. “So, we really had to learn how to perform better so that the elements of the show, not just for the music, would also be better. So, we also like got more people involved in the production team, bigger investment on our part (as) compared to the small gigs (before).”

For Over October, breaking into the mainstream was something they never planned, it just happened naturally.

“It was decided for us,” said Lua with a laugh.

The band used to play in small venues, but after their breakout hit, Ikot, plenty of opportunities came knocking at their door. “We now play at bigger venues and larger shows. So, in that sense yung yung tinutukoy namin na mainstream, not necessarily our sound, kasi our sound is still authentic to our identity. Pero kumalat lang din talaga yung song namin to a wider audience.”

“At our core, we’re still an indie band,” asserted Lua. “We’re independent, we’re self-managed, with Kat, our manager, and we have a small team to help us out. It just so happens that Ikot enjoys mainstream success. So with that, pati yung band, (came) mainstream opportunities.”

They all left their day jobs to focus on their music. “It’s more on investing in ourselves as well. Parang ito na yung pangkabuhayan namin, eh. It’s really investing,” said Buizon.

Last month, more than 3,000 free passes for Over October’s anniversary concert were claimed within just two hours of registration. The overwhelming response from fans, collectively called Octobears, prompted the band to add 500 more passes, which were also claimed immediately.

The concert was held at the MOA Amphitheater, which was presented by Over October and GNN. The show also served as a post-release celebration for their latest track, Dahan, which featured a special cameo by Donny Pangilinan in the lyrical visualizer.

Fun fact: co-founders of the band, Lua and Buizon, have the same birthday month, October, hence the name of the band.

“Lua asked if I wanted to be part of the band that he was forming,” shared Buizon. “And yeah, we tried to figure out the things that we had in common. So, other than both our names are Josh, parang we didn’t want it naman to be Josh & Josh kasi parang di magandang sound yung Josh & Josh. Hindi Ben&Ben, eh, parang maganda yung Ben&Ben.”

“So we’re trying to think of things we had in common and it just so happened na both of our birthdays are nasa October. So, we said, something with October. ‘O isip tayo. Hangover October? Pangit parang hindi child-friendly. Sober October? Parang hindi pa rin. So, Over October, that’s how we started.”